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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. safe — a strongbox
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. swing — in golf
  5. key — in music
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. swing — music
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. key — the most important part
  10. spring — the season
  11. key — for a lock
  12. swing — to play on
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. spring — a coil
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. spring — of water
  18. file — a line of people
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. file — a document
  21. fork — in a road
  22. file — a tool
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. fan — a supporter

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com